Winspear poised to spread its wings in Edmonton

Bill Mah, Edmonton Journal10.22.2012

Winspear executive director Annemarie Petrov poses in the parking lot of the Winspear Centre on Oct. 22, 2012. The centre is putting out a call for developers for an expansion of the concert hall on the 97th Street parking lot.Bruce Edwards
/ Edmonton Journal

The Winspear Centre wants to expand on the east side of its building.Bruce Edwards
/ edmontonjournal.com

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EDMONTON - The Francis Winspear Centre for Music helped change the face of downtown Edmonton when it opened in 1997.

Now the performing arts facility is preparing for an encore — an expansion that would turn a parking lot on the building’s east side into a 400- to 600-seat hall, studio and support space.

In addition to more than 40,000 square feet of cultural expansion space, the new development is also expected to house a facility for commercial, residential or hotel use; the specifics of which will be determined by the developer that partners with the Winspear.

The Winspear has put out a call for developers to submit expressions of interest for the expansion through a public-private partnership (P3). Developing the centre’s back end was first proposed about four years ago as part of a strategic plan.

“We recognized for us to continue to remain viable, to continue to serve the community to the best of our ability, we needed to expand the Winspear,” said centre executive director Annemarie Petrov.

The concert hall, one of the jewels in Edmonton’s downtown arts district, opened in September 1997. Its development was spearheaded by a $6-million donation from the late philanthropist Francis Winspear, followed by support from individuals and three levels of government. Winspear died eight months before the centre opened.

“There had always been plans to have a larger facility and have an educational program in the parking lot to the east of the building. This is really the realization of that initial dream,” said Petrov.

Unlike the Winspear’s current fixed, soft seating, the new hall would be a space versatile enough for rehearsals and use by community and corporate groups for performances, functions and musical outreach.

The development would also add facilities for food catering and music education outreach that are missing from the existing Winspear, which was built for $45 million.

“Money was scarce in 1997 and they really got good value for their money … for the concert hall, but there was always a plan to develop more,” said Armin Preiksaitis, president of ParioPlan, the development planning and consulting firm that will act as project manager for the expansion.

“Francis Winspear’s vision was that the complex needed to be more than just a concert hall. What he envisioned in that space was there would be more community outreach so it’s not just subscribers to the (Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.)”

Closing date for submissions of interest from developers is Nov. 30. The competition is expected to be complete by the end of the year. No budget or designs are available yet. Construction could start within two or three years.

The project is proceeding as a P3 because that model would provide a sustainable cash flow to the Winspear through revenue streams such as land rental or parking fees.

“How it would work is the Winspear basically has a leasehold interest in that piece of land and they have the capability of entering into a lease with the city for 85 years,” said Preiksaitis. “They would ask the developer to build their 40,000 square feet of social space … and then (the developer) would be able to build a hotel or apartments or basically offices and they would pay the Winspear a land lease about every year. That would give the Winspear a sustained revenue stream and also offset the cost of building the space themselves.”

The Winspear would own the cultural space and the developer would own the other improvements, he said. The existing hall is owned and operated by the Winspear on behalf of the community. It receives municipal operating grants and business sponsorships.

Preiksaitis said the Winspear expansion could also add life to an institutional stretch of 97th Street by adding possibilities such as an arts hotel or retail and restaurant space.

“We want to be fairly definitive in compatible uses but we also want to leave the field open in terms of uses that we haven’t thought of.”

The Winspear would join other developments popping up in the eastern part of downtown. Last year, a two-year makeover costing $8.6 million was completed at the Citadel Theatre, featuring renovations to Zeidler Hall and Rice Lobby, improvements to dressing rooms and public washrooms and additional structural repairs. Funding came from all three levels of government.

The Citadel Theatre is also looking for redevelopment proposals that could include constructing a multi-storey apartment or boutique hotel on its indoor garden site, the Lee Pavilion.

The new Royal Alberta Museum is scheduled to open in 2016 at the site of the downtown post office at 97th Street and 103A Avenue, while the vintage Alberta Hotel was rebuilt on Jasper Avenue near 97th Street.

Ground broke in June for an upscale hotel near Jasper Avenue and 96th Street, a catalyst project for the long-awaited Quarters redevelopment east of downtown.

“Quietly, on our eastern front for the downtown, there’s a bunch of stuff starting to happen,” said Jim Taylor, executive director of the Downtown Business Association.

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